Danzo Intimidated!

In a remote, shadowy corner of Konoha stood a Japanese-style room. Two fierce statues stood atop the platform before its entrance. This was where Shimura Danzo, leader of Konoha's Root, slept.

Inside, Danzo sat before a table, reading a secret letter sent by Hanzō of the Salamander, leader of the Rain ninja, by candlelight.

The letter read: Nagato has escaped from my grasp and is secretly rebuilding the Akatsuki. The ninja who rescued Nagato from me earlier called himself Uchiha Riu. He possesses strength no less than my own and may be a rare Uchiha prodigy seen only after Madara...

"For the Hidden Leaf Village and the ninja world to enjoy lasting peace, the Uchiha must be eliminated..." Danzo muttered, burning the secret letter.

Suddenly, the candle flame before him flickered violently and went out!

"Killing intent..." Danzo narrowed his eyes.

"Who is it?!"

"Argh!!"

The Root members guarding outside fell with screams, and the silhouette of a long-haired figure appeared on the paper sliding door.

Crack!!

A bolt of lightning pierced through the door and through Shimura Danzo's body!

Bang! The door shattered, and Riu stood outside, his dark eyes fixed on the table. Danzo was not there—only a wooden plank with a hole through it...

"Substitution Technique. That was fast." Riu looked up at Danzo standing on the roof eaves.

A cold wind swept past as the two faced each other beneath the moon.

"Uchiha Riu, I have wanted to meet you for a long time..." Danzo said in a low voice.

Sizzle! Riu's left eye shifted into a Mangekyo Sharingan, focusing on Danzo's head.

Kamui!

Crack!

Danzo's head was twisted off by Kamui. Blood sprayed from his neck as the headless corpse fell from the wall... then vanished amid a blur of light and shadow.

"A space-controlling ocular technique. Truly terrifying..." Danzo's voice sounded from the other side. He stood unharmed atop a stone statue, unwrapping the bandages over his right eye to reveal the Sharingan beneath. At the same time, his hands rapidly formed seals, and he took a deep breath.

Wind Release: Vacuum Wave!

Whoosh! The Vacuum Wave swept across the area, slicing everything in its path in two—houses, walls, anything at all. Yet Riu remained completely unharmed!

"So that is it. You let matter pass through your body, rendering attacks ineffective. Is that the power of your other Mangekyo Sharingan? What flawless eyes. How about becoming a replacement for my right eye?"

As Danzo spoke, he removed the bandages over his right eye. The Sharingan beneath turned a desolate white, forever losing its light.

Riu said coldly, "Izanagi. A forbidden ocular technique that can only be activated by possessing both Senju Clan and Uchiha power, at the cost of permanently losing the light in an eye. Aside from your right eye, the right arm implanted with Hashirama Cells—and the ten Sharingan on it—exist for this very purpose. Orochimaru's handiwork, I presume..."

"What?!" Danzo's pupils suddenly contracted upon hearing Riu's words. He knows my secrets so thoroughly. That bastard Orochimaru really colluded with him and betrayed Konoha!

"You may be able to let matter pass through your body, but if you want to attack, you must become corporeal. In other words, as long as we fight, you will lose!"

As he spoke, Danzo pulled his right arm from his sleeve and removed the metal plate covering it. The ten Sharingan embedded in it each spun independently, presenting a horrifying sight...

Each Sharingan he consumed could sustain Izanagi for one minute. These ten Sharingan could keep Izanagi active for ten minutes. In other words, for those ten minutes, no matter how many times Danzo was killed or how he was killed, he would not die. This was the source of Danzo's confidence!

"Then give it a try..." Riu said.

Boom!

Danzo used the Body Flicker Technique to close in, stabbing Riu with a kunai... Whoosh! As expected, Danzo and his kunai passed right through Riu without causing any effect.

Whoosh!

He spun around, sweeping his kunai across again, only for it to pass through once more... His heart tightened. This guy doesn't intend to fight back at all. He wants to use this to burn through my Izanagi!

Riu smiled mockingly. "You can consider deactivating Izanagi, but the ocular technique in my left eye will twist off your head in an instant, just as it did before. You know I can do it..."

This was so-called strategic deterrence! Danzo knew he had fallen into a trap, yet he still had no choice but to obey!

"Bastard!!" Danzo was enraged, but helpless. He formed hand seals with both hands and launched an immensely powerful Wind Release attack.

"I am not done yet!!"

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Danzo unleashed powerful ninjutsu one after another. What was impressive was that there was not even the slightest gap between his techniques...

Riu frowned. "I see. He intends to maintain a saturated barrage during Izanagi's duration so that I cannot easily deactivate Phasing Mode either..."

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh! Danzo's hand seals had become afterimages as he thought, Mangekyo Sharingan techniques may be defy the heavens, but they have their limits. The time he can maintain Phasing Mode must be limited!

Riu thought, Heh, looks like he wants to gamble that his Izanagi will last longer than my Phasing Mode. Fine, I will gamble with you!

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Under Danzo's relentless bombardment of ninjutsu, the entire area had nearly been leveled to the ground...

Second by second, the Sharingan on Danzo's right arm closed one after another. Every eye used was one less eye, never to open again...

Four minutes passed. Four Sharingan had already closed, yet Riu's Phasing Mode still had not ended!

"This damned ocular technique!!!" Danzo was frantic, but he did not dare pause his hand seals for even a moment. He feared that if he stopped, Riu's ocular technique would reset and all his efforts would be wasted!

However, the consequences of maintaining his techniques like this were not limited to the consumption of eyes. His Chakra was also rapidly being drained dry...

Time continued to pass. To Danzo, it was unbearable torment. Finally, the fifth Sharingan closed!

Whoosh, whoosh! At that moment, Riu formed hand seals with both hands.

Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!

Boom!! The fireball collided with the Wind Release ahead. Due to their elemental opposition, it transformed into an even fiercer Fire Release attack that swallowed Danzo whole. Izanagi activated, turning the unfavorable outcome into a dream, and Danzo reappeared elsewhere. Though suppressed, his face was filled with ecstatic relief. "Five minutes—that is your limit! I win!"

"Not necessarily." Both of Riu's Mangekyo Sharingan suddenly shone.

Susanoo!

Blaze!

Azure Chakra flames enveloped Riu's entire body, forming a massive skeleton. Muscles and tendons wound between the bones, forming a layer of outer covering...

"Susanoo? It may be troublesome... but it is not impossible for me to break!" Danzo looked somewhat grave, but he did not panic.

In the original story, Danzo's battle against Sasuke Uchiha had proven that he truly possessed the ability to break through Susanoo's second form!

But the next moment, Danzo's expression froze completely.

Blaze, blaze, blaze, blaze!!

That was because even more powerful Chakra flames ignited outside the covering wrapped around Susanoo's skeleton. The massive Chakra flames gradually stabilized, forming a majestic suit of armor that tightly encased Susanoo!

Susanoo's third form, Crow Tengu Susanoo! This was the strongest form of the Half-Body Susanoo. The higher-level Complete Body Susanoo could only be activated after awakening the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan or obtaining Six Paths Power!

Danzo stared blankly at the twenty-meter-tall Susanoo towering before him.

Riu said deeply, "Danzo, do you still have the confidence to break it within the remaining five minutes?"

Danzo gritted his teeth, unwilling to give up. "Such a powerful Chakra construct—I refuse to believe you can sustain it for long!"

"Heh, you seem to have forgotten something..." Riu smiled. Beneath his right arm, tree trunks twisted down like braided rope.

Wood Release!! Why did I forget that he also possessed the First Hokage's power?! Danzo's heart went cold. He knew... the power he had left was insufficient to break this Susanoo!

But Danzo was, after all, a battle-hardened Kage Level fighter. Even at this moment, he remained calm in the face of danger. "The commotion from our battle will surely alert the village's strong. They will arrive before five minutes pass. Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Yellow Flash, countless Elite Jonin—no matter how powerful you are, you cannot possibly survive our joint assault!"

Riu merely smiled noncommittally. "Heh, I am in no hurry to kill you. Orochimaru works for me, and the eyes on your right arm can no longer be replenished. Even if you escape this time, the five Sharingan remaining on your right arm—no, soon there will only be four. Are you confident you will survive the next time?" Riu was openly threatening Danzo.

Danzo clenched his fists tightly. At last, his attitude softened. "What exactly is your purpose in coming here..."

"Stop all impeachment efforts against the Fourth Hokage. Do not lay a hand on the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki, Kushina Uzumaki. Otherwise... you and your Root will vanish from this world! Remember my words, Danzo."

Whoosh! As his voice fell, Riu vanished into Kamui's vortex. More than ten seconds after he left, the towering Crow Tengu Susanoo before Danzo finally dissipated with a roar, leaving behind only indelible scars across the earth—and Danzo, whose expression was filled with endless resentment and humiliation...